Glad you called
by AirborneGirl
Summary: After being stood up by Joseph and rescued by Scotty, Lilly makes two phone calls which might change her life. One-shot, continuance of "All better".


**Glad you called**

**AN**: And the good reviews keep coming. Inspiration is yet again flowing freely and I do welcome it back! It's been awhile since a TV-couple triggered my writing the way these two do, but as long as they do and as long as the feedback (So much appreciated) is this positive, I'm back behind my computer, typing like I'm on speed...and want Scotty to strip-search me. Wait…did I think that out loud? Oopsie…

**Disclaimer**: They're not mine. Unfortunately.

**Spoilers**: You should know by now. Look for my other stories.

_Here we go again…_

A thin white hand pressed the 'end call' button of the cell-phone. The owner of both hand and phone looked at it with an odd mixture of relief and pain. She should have known, but had been fooled again nonetheless.

He hadn't called at all, last night, when she was supposed to meet him at the fancy restaurant near the precinct. And there was no message on her voice-mail either. When she had tried to call him, his phone had been shut off and she refused to leave a message about something as personal as him not showing up for a date.

Shortly after she had gotten home tonight, her phone had rang, caller-ID showing a single J. Annoyed, she let it ring out, sighing as the melody stopped abruptly. Of course, it started blaring again after a few minutes. With another sigh, Lilly Rush realized he wouldn't stop calling her just because she wanted him to. So she picked up.

"Hi."

"Lil, it's me. Joseph."

"I know who you are. I'm only wondering _where_ you are. Or rather: where you were. Like, last night."

"Look, I'm sorry I couldn't make it, but something came up and I didn't have time to call you."

"Text message would have been nice."

"Yeah, I know, but I just…couldn't, okay?"

No. Not okay. Definitely not okay.

"Why?"

"That's personal."

Joseph sounded defensive and as a Pavlov effect, Lilly's interrogation skills kicked in. He was hiding something from her. And no, she wasn't the kind of person who choked her partner by wanting to know everything about him, but she was the kind of person who didn't like being put on the backburner without a just cause. She been there, done that and didn't even have a freakin' t-shirt to show for it.

"More personal than a date?"

Silence. Then, softly: "You're a cop, Lil."

Understanding dawned. "And this was something illegal you were doing."

"Not me! But, there's this friend, you know…"

Yeah, she knew. The world was crowded with such 'friends' (or, in her case, a sister). One bad apple of the kind who would always get _you_ in trouble...while you were trying to get _them_ out of it.

But she was done with people who had such 'a friend'. Especially when they got in her way, like they were prone to do. Feeling a raging headache coming up, she turned back to the conversation, knowing there was only one thing left to do.

"Look, Joseph…I don't think this is going to work between us."

"Why not? I was just helping out a friend. There is no need for you to do anything about it, read too much into it and we can go out again tomorrow, you name the place."

"No Joseph, no!"

"I don't get it, Lil. I don't get you. First, you beg me not to leave you and then you push me out. What is it you want?"

"Apparently something you can't give me. I'm sorry Joseph, but this is it. Just…don't call me anymore. Stop coming around."

"Whatever you want, detective Rush. You're too high-maintenance anyway."

He hung up, just like that and Lilly shuddered. Maybe he was right. Maybe she was too high-maintenance. But all she had ever wanted was a guy who would be there for her. Who would believe in her and yet understand at the same time that she didn't always believe that strongly in herself. A man who wouldn't bolt when he came face to face with her insecurities.

She had believed she had found that guy.

Then, out of the blue, a snippet of a conversation, held the evening of her supposed date, came back to her and she smiled.

_"Scotty…why was I being stood up again?"_

_"You weren't."_

No, she hadn't been, had she? She had been waiting for someone and someone had shown up. It had not been the one she had expected, but, somehow, the one that had shown up, was a lot better.

Scotty…

Scotty had never considered her to be high-maintenance. He respected her and when he teased, he only gave as good as he got and never played dirty. The affair he'd had with her sister had nothing to do with that. In retrospect, had she really wanted him to understand without words how incredibly hurt she was? She had no claim on him. In fact, he was never to know that the hurt she felt came out of jealousy. Because, again, Chris had laid her hands on something (or someone) Lil had wanted. Despite of the fact that all they were to each other was partners.

But it would be different now. He had come to her rescue last night, had saved her from the pitiful glances she was certain she would have gotten from the restaurant personnel as she had so obviously been waiting for someone who hadn't taken the effort of showing up. They would have thought she probably wasn't worth it.

Now normally, Lilly tried not to care about what random people in this big city might think or not think of her, but she had to admit: if Scotty hadn't shown, it was what she would have thought too. That she again wasn't good enough for her guy. Or any guy.

The though of being good enough for Scotty again brought a smile to her face. He had asked her out. On a date. He might not have said it with flowers, more like with a casual slip of the tongue, but it had been an invitation nonetheless.

_"Let's do this again. You and me, a nice restaurant…"_

_"You mean…like…a date?"_

_"Yeah, like a date."_

_"I'd love that." _

_"Good, great. I'll…make plans."_

_"Alright, let me know."_

_"I will…goodnight, Lil."_

_"Goodnight Scotty."_

Should she call him, tell him how much she loved the idea of a date with him? Or was that too pushy? Maybe he'd only said it as a band-aid to her wounded ego, maybe he supposed she would have forgotten all about it already. Maybe he had.

Frustrated with herself, she picked up the just discarded phone. Those were a lot of maybes, and she didn't care for either of them. Lilly Rush squared her shoulders and punched in the speed-dial for Scotty's cell phone. _Just pretend this is about an investigation. Nothing more._

He picked up after two rings, greeting her by her name as he had obviously read caller ID. He sounded…_happy_?!

"Hey Lil, what's up?"

"I…eh…I just wanted to…you know, say hi."

Smooth, Rush. She heard him laugh softly. But for some reason, it didn't sound like he was making fun of her.

"Well, hi to you too."

Silence…come on, Lil, before he hangs up!

"Lil, you still there?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. I was just…wondering…"

"Wondering what?"

"Wondering what you were gonna do tonight."

Another soft deep rumbling laugh reached her ear and it warmed her like no blanket ever could. She pictured him sitting on his sofa, leaning back, his tie undone and totally relaxed while he listened to her making a fool of herself.

"Nothing special. Why?"

"Neither am I. I mean…I had plans, but…"

"The bastard stood you up again?"

"No, I mean…he…he called me. and he tried to explain why he didn't show last night and…I broke things off with him."

Scotty at least had the common sense not to sigh very audibly, but his tone of voice as he answered betrayed he wasn't sorry to see Joseph drop out of her existence. It was a strange mix of elation and a strong concern for her wellbeing.

"Good for you, Lil. You can do better than that."

She couldn't help herself; his vote of confidence brought a smile to her face. She wondered shortly why she wasn't more upset about her last break-up, but quickly discarded it as irrelevant when she heard her partner speak again.

"You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. I just…I feel…jeez, I don't know."

Why couldn't she get one small stupid sentence out in one go? This was her partner she was talking to, she had never before been tongue-tied around him.

Hmmm. Tongue-tied with Scotty. She practically groaned when a certain image assaulted her mind. It made her miss the things he was saying and she hastily interrupted him, glad he couldn't see the blush on her pale cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Scotty, could you repeat that? I got a little…distracted."

He chuckled, making her inner temperature rise even further, her blush now extending to her neck and cheekbones.

"Do I even wanna know?"

"You don't, believe me…"

"Okay, I'll take your word for it. But, as I was saying when you got so…distracted…I just wanted to order some Chinese food and play couch potato. And your couch is much more comfortable than mine, so…"

She didn't need to give that a second thought.

"I like the shrimps and that pork stuff in that spicy sauce."

"Am I supposed to know what the heck you mean?"

"They will. I hope."

"So do I. I'm on my way."

"See ya in a bit."

"Yeah…oh, and Lil?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you called."

"So am I"

THE END

_Again, all reviews are welcome. Thanks for reading!_


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